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In Reply to: RE: cPlay 2.0b31 Released posted by cics on October 07, 2009 at 18:12:11
This combo at src/192 is nothing short of amazing, I just love it. Imaging, dynamics and a sense that a light is turned on at the back of the soundstage---so much more to hear but smooth, very smooth. Congratulations.But I have some questions regarding some anomalies. I get zero metallics but I do get an occasional what I call a 'static-ee' noise which goes away via going to another track or changing sample rate. Others get this as well. I got the same noise when I was running juli@ analogue outs. If metallics were a 10 as an issue the static-ee is a 3: far fewer and easier to fix but annoying just the same and does not require a reboot. So upon throwing this around in my head I believe it may have the same root cause as metallics but since the system is no longer using juli@ drivers it is just manifested as
different. But assuming this is correct here are some more observations: when I get the static’s my cpu usage is typically 50 % with spikes up and down. But since Sunday when you asked me to run 48/tiny I have gotten zero static’s so I thought it was the combination of 48 / tiny parameters that was doing it (and maybe it is) but I also checked cpu usage and I'm back down to 25%. This same phenomena occurred back in June when I was running spdif out to the Benchmark: for a wonderful week I was getting no metallics while getting 25% (when prior to this I was getting 50% cpu usage and lots of metallics). So I think there is still an issue with juli@ (albeit minor with I2S out) that is somehow associated with cpu usage jumping around from 50% to 25%. This am I had to reboot after being on for 3 days and upon reboot I got 25% cpu usage but with spikes up to 45-50%. After being on continuously for a while the spikes started to settle down in the 35-40% level but come back to a higher level after not running cplay for a while but with the pc still continously on.Edit: my mistake on the cpu usage bit, I found out my pc reset unbeknownst to me my bios hcc to auto and I got clock speed of 1600 when I reset back to 840 cpu usage goes back up to 45-50%. When I reboot I normally sense a reset of bios when It takes long to boot up, I missed it. I hate computers. I love cplay/cmp.
Not to throw cold water on my glowing review of cplay 31 @ tiny/48 (and it is nothing short of magnificent) what in your opinion could be happening here with the noise issues and cpu usage which seems to be correlated. Look if I had to live with this situation as it is now I would be happy for a long time. I'm just trying to understand if juli@ is fatally flawed and whether I should pursue another sound card. I was tempted by the Lynx but w/o anyway to run battery power or I2S out I fear the Lynx may be too limiting now that I have experienced LiFePo4 batteries and I2S out.
Edits: 10/20/09
Which type of cable(s) are you using for the I2S? I currently use Cat5e for my I2S -> DAC connection. While I can't complain about the sound quality, it certainly couldn't hurt to get "proper" cabling. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Thank you in advance!
"We should no more let numbers define audio quality than we would let chemical analysis be the arbiter of fine wines." N.P.
It is 75 ohm coax with teflon dielectric. I believe it is bg 179 (or something like that). It costs about $40 for 4 feet of it. Its very delicate but fairly easy to solder right onto juli@ pins.
Thank you! Sounds like the cable (or something similiar) in the link below. Can you please confirm?
Oh, and did you ground the braided shield or make twisted pairs with the cable?
"We should no more let numbers define audio quality than we would let chemical analysis be the arbiter of fine wines." N.P.
yes it was rg not bg 179. I used the cable as a coax: soldered the center connector to juli@ pins & grounded the shield to a juli@ pin on the 10 pin connector. I twisted all the shields together and fastened a wire from the twisted bunch of 3 shields to a ground pin on juli@.
Thank you theo.I remade my I2S cable yesterday following your instructions, and it sounds good so far. Overall, it sounds cleaner, more detailed and resolving. However, the presentation also becomes a bit bright and forward, making vocals less enjoyable. I wonder if this is due to the lack of burn in. Does my experience with the RG179 coax sound familiar to you?
"We should no more let numbers define audio quality than we would let chemical analysis be the arbiter of fine wines." N.P.
Edits: 10/28/09 10/28/09
Not sure...I was breaking in a new sound card as well as the I2S cables. Give it a few days then pass judgment. But yes it did mellow out eventually.
Edits: 10/29/09 10/29/09
Thanks, I think it already improved noticeably during the past 24 hours (I left the system on the entire time). By the way, the 30 AWG conductor of the RG179 seems *really* fragile. I used some hot melt glue on my Juli@ to ensure I don't tear the I2S cables off by accident. Ugly, but it works!
"We should no more let numbers define audio quality than we would let chemical analysis be the arbiter of fine wines." N.P.
Edits: 10/29/09
why not solder?
Glue on top of solder. I'll post a pic when I have time.
"We should no more let numbers define audio quality than we would let chemical analysis be the arbiter of fine wines." N.P.
Edits: 10/29/09
I was thinking of using a usb cable for I2S, just a thought :).
Brad
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